Apparatus for discharging material from a vessel or other containers



Sept. 21, 1965 L. CHAPPUIS 3,207,382

APPARATUS FOR DISCHARGING MATERIAL FROM A VESSEL OR OTHER CONTAINERSFiled March 23, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l s FiG.1

/ I 1 1 i as Sept. 21, 1965 CHAPPUIS 3,207,382

APPARATUS FOR DISCHARGING MATERIAL FROM A VESSEL OR OTHER CONTAINERSFiled March 25, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,207,382APPARATUS FOR DISCHARGING MATERIAL FROM A VESSEL OR OTHER CONTAINERSLouis Laurent Chappuis, 34 Rue Louis Thevenet, Lyon, France Filed Mar.23, 1964, Ser. No. 353,980 Claims priority, application France, Apr. 12,1963, 43,546, Patent 1,361,540 4 Claims. (Cl. 222254) This inventionrelates to apparatus for the discharging of material from a vessel andmore particularly to a discharge device in said vessel.

When a tub or vessel has to travel in galleries of low height, forexample, in underground tunnels or shafts discharging of the vessel bytilting is not possible. It becomes necessary therefore to use someother mode of discharge.

To overcome this difficulty, end vessels have been prepared having amovable wall rigid with the rod of of a jack. The opposite wall beingretractable. In this way it is possible by actuating the jack todischarge the entire contents of the vessel. To achieve this dischargeit is necessary for the stroke of the jack plunger to be equal to thelength of the vessel. The length of the complete discharge device istherefore double that of the vessel. Furthermore, as the weight of thecontents may be considerable it is necessary to provide a very powerfuljack or a plurality of jacks of moderate power.

The purpose of the invention is to mitigate these inconveniences byproviding a discharge device for the vessel of smaller bulk which doesnot require the production of excessive force.

To this end the apparatus according to the invention comprises a steppeddischarge device projecting into the vessel at the base of one wall,occupying the entire width thereof, said device being rigid with the rodof one or more external jacks and enabling by a series of advancing andretracting movements the substantial emptying of the vessel.

The stroke of the jack or jacks is reduced as compared to the knowndevice because it corresponds to the difference in length between thelowest step and the vessel. Moreover, since discharge is effected by aplurality of operations, force developed by the jack or jacks for eachoperation is reduced in proportion.

Nevertheless such a device does not enable the vessel to be completelyemptied because there will always remain a certain quantity of materialon the different steps of the discharge device. For this reason theinvention provides a more highly developed apparatus in which thedischarge device is formed by a plurality of telescopic steps or stages.Each stage is actuated by the stage immediately therebelow while thealternate displacement of each stage is effected by one or more jacks,which are respectively secured to the stage immediately below, while thejack of the lowest stage is secured to the bottom of the vessel.

Discharge of the vessel is effected by first applying to the completedischarge device a reciprocating movement by operating only the jack orjacks of the lowest stage.

This operation is followed by a cleaning operation, the purpose of whichis to discharge the material resting on the steps or stages of thedischarge device. To accomplish this cleaning operation each stage isoperated independently of the others commencing with the uppermost andfinishing with the lowermost.

The invention will be better understood from the following descriptionwith reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings whichillustrate by way of 3,207,382 Patented Sept. 21, 1965 "ice example anembodiment of the discharge device applied to a vessel.

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a section taken on the line IIII of FIGURE 1 after a fillingoperation,

FIGURES 3, 4, 5 and 6 are sections also taken on the line II-II ofFIGURE 1 but showing four successive phases of the material removaloperation.

The vessel 2 shown in the drawings comprises a fiat bottom or base 3 andfour walls 4, 5, 6, and 7. The side walls 6 and 7 are of trapezoidalform such that the front wall 4 and rear wall 5 are inclined from top tobottom in a direction towards the center of the vessel.

The base of the front wall 4 is attached by a hinge 14 to the front edgeof the bottom 3 so that it can be swung down forward when the vessel isto be discharged.

There is an opening between the lower edge of the rear wall 5 and thebottom 3 of the vessel. This accommodates three stages 8, 9 and 11 of astepped discharge device. Each stage is slidably mounted on the stageimmediately below which serves as a runaway while the lowest stage 8 isslidably mounted on the bottom 3. The displacement of each stage iseffected by one or more jacks 8a, 9a and 11a respectively. Each jack hasone end connected to a vertical head of the associated stage while anopposite end of the jack is secured to the respective brackets 8b, 9band 11b which are fixed t0 the stage immediately below. Thus each stagecarries the bracket to which is secured the jack which displaces thestage for which it serves as a runway. The bracket 8b to which issecured the jack 8a of the stage 8 is carried by the bottom 3 of thevessel 2.

When the jacks 8a, 9a and 1111 are retracted the front head of the stage11 is in vertical alignment with the lower edge of the rear wall 5 andthe stage 8 covers about half the surface of the bottom 3 while thestage 9 occupies an intermediate position between stages 8 and 11 asshown in FIGURE 2. During the loading of the vessel with material 12 thethree stages 8, 9 and 11 of the discharge device occupy the retractedposition shown in FIGURE 2. The first phase of discharge is effected bydisplacing the three stages 8, 9 and 11 of the discharge devicesimultaneously. For this the operator actuates only the control of thejack 8a after having swung the front wall 4 of the vessel downwardly.The discharge device moves between the two extreme positions shown inFIGURES 2 and 3, because the bracket 9b and jack 9a carry the stage 9with them and the bracket 11b and jack 11a carry the stage 11 with them.

When the discharge operation has been completed there will remain asmall quantity of material on the steps formed by stages 8 and 9indicated at 12a and 12b respectively in FIGURE 3. The assembly of thethree stages of the discharge device is now returned to the retractedposition shown in FIGURE 2. The operator now actuates the jack 11a todisplace the stage 11. At the end of the stroke of the plunger of thejack 1101 the front head of the stage 11 registers with the front headof the stage 9 as shown in FIGURE 4. The quantity of material 12b isthus pushed on to the stage 2 and added to the quantity 12a previouslythere thus forming a residual quantity 120, FIGURE 4.

The operator now displaces the stage 9 by actuating the jack 9a. As thebracket 11b is rigid with the stage 9 the latter carries with it thejack 11a, the stage 11 itself being prevented from moving upon theengagement of wall 5 with an abutment 13.

At the end of the stroke of the plunger of the jack 9a, the front headof the stage 9 registers with the front head of the stage 8 and theresidual quantity 12c is therefore pushed on to the bottom 3 of thevessel 2 while the jack 11a is pushed over the plunger rod as shown inFIGURE 5.

As will be easily understood actuation of the jack 8a to its extendedposition will now push the residual material 12 over the wall 4 as shownin FIGURE 6.

It will be clear that in order to save time it is possible to effectthis cleaning operation by actuating the jacks 8a, 9a and 11a insuccessive steps arranged at short intervals of time rather than awaitcompletion of the strokes of the jacks.

The invention is not limited to the single embodiment described above byway of example but includes all modifications within the scope of theclaims and in particular in the number of stages of the steppeddischarge device.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for discharging material comprising a vessel including abase, a front wall, means supporting the front wall for pivotal movementbetween a closed position and an open position, and a rear wall providedwith alower opening extending to said base, and a discharge devicelocated in said opening and supported on said base for completing thedischarge of material from the vessel when the front wall is open, saiddevice comprising a plurality of stages, including a lowermost stage anda plurality of upper stages, said stages having a width equal to that ofthe vessel, the lowermost stage being slidably mounted on said bottom,the upper stages being slidably supported on the next lower stage, eachstage including a jack which has extended and retracted positions, thejack of the lowermost stage having one end securely connected to suchstage and an opposite end secured to said base, each of the jacks of theupper stages having one end secured to the respective stage and anopposite end secured to the next lower stage, the lowermost stageextending the length of the base of the vessel with the jack thereofextended to enable discharge of material on said base, through 4 theopen front wall, the stages defining a succession of steps on said basewhen the jacks of the stages are retracted whereby upon selectiveextension and retraction of the said jacks the material on said stepscan be discharged from the vessel.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein each stage includes asubstantially vertical front head which moves in a horizontal planetowards the front wall, said lowermost stage having a movement ofapproximately one-half the length of the bottom of said vessel betweenextension and retraction of the jack thereof, each of the upper stagesbeing slidably displaceable upon extension of the jack thereof to aposition of vertical alignment of the head thereof with the head of thenext lower stage when the jack of the latter is retracted.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising a stop mounted on theuppermost stage for contact with said rear wall to limit movement of theuppermost stage into the vessel.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means supporting thefront wall for pivotal movement comprises a hinge connecting the frontwall to said base.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 908,700 1/09 Rush222-342 x 2,840,276 6/58 Dreyer et al. 222334 X FOREIGN PATENTS 126,94212/49 Sweden.

OTHER REFERENCES German printed application, 1,116,700, Nov. 9, 1961.

M. HENSON WOOD, JR., Primary Examiner.

LOUIS J. DEMBO, Examiner.

1. APPARATUS FOR DISCHARGING MATERIAL COMPRISING A VESSEL INCLUDING ABASE, A FRONT WALL, MEANS SUPPORTING THE FRONT WALL FOR PIVOTAL MOVEMENTBETWEEN A CLOSED POSITION AND AN OPEN POSITION, AND A REAR WALL PROVIDEDWITH A LOWER OPENING EXTENDING TO SAID BASE, AND A DISCHARGE DEVICELOCATED IN SAID OPENING AND SUPPORTED ON SAID BASE FOR COMPLETING THEDISCHARGE OF MATERIAL FROM THE VESSEL WHEN THE FRONT WALL IS OPEN, SAIDDEVICE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF UPPER STAGES, SAID STAGES HAVING STAGEAND A PLURALITY OF UPPER STAGES, SAID STAGES HAVING A WIDTH EQUAL TOTHAT OF THE VESSEL, THE LOWERMOST STAGE BEING SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON SAIDBOTTOM, THE UPPER STAGES BEING BEING SLIDABLY SUPPORTED ON THE NEXTLOWER STAGE, EACH STAGE INCLUDING A JACK WHICH HAS EXTENDED ANDRETRACTED POSITIONS, THE JACK OF THE LOWERMOST STAGE HAVING ONE ENDSECURELY CONNECTED TO SUCH STAGE AND AN OPPOSITE END SECURED TO SAIDBASE, EACH OF THE JACKS OF THE UPPER STAGES HAVING ONE END SECURED TOTHE RESPECTIVE STAGE AND AN OPPOSITE END SECURED TO THE NEXT LOWERSTAGE, THE LOWERMOST STAGE EXTENDING THE LENGTH OF THE BASE OF THEVESSEL WITH THE JACK THEREOF EXTENDED TO ENABLE DISCHARGE OF MATERIAL ONSAID BASE, THROUGH THE OPEN FRONT WALL, THE STAGES DEFINING A SUCCESSIONOF STEPS ON SAID BASE WHEN THE JACKS OF THE STAGES ARE RETRACTED WHEREBYUPON SELECTIVE EXTENSION AND RETRACTION OF THE SAID JACKS THE MATERIALON SAID STEPS CAN BE DISCHARGED FROM THE VESSEL.